


feels like forever

by wvlfqveen



Series: riverdale hogwarts au [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alive Jason Blossom, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F, Past Statutory Rape (Mentioned), Pining, Underage Drinking, betty cooper is angry and i love her, grundy can suck a million dicks, nobody is straight dot com
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 19:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10520421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wvlfqveen/pseuds/wvlfqveen
Summary: Betty Cooper doesn't expect much to change in her sixth year at Hogwarts, but life has other plans in the form of a new student; Veronica Lodge.





	

**Author's Note:**

> greetings, loved ones
> 
> so a month ago i was like hm..idk if i wanna watch riverdale...i mean whats up w the grundy thing and that queerbaiting betty/veronica kiss and now here i am, posting this at 3 am. i havent read harry potter in like a million years so the timeline is all over the place and i have no idea what their class schedule is. apologies
> 
> for students and teachers i used a lot of characters from the archie comics.also im not british so please correct me if i used wrong words/phrases/etc
> 
> enjoy!

“You will _not_ believe this,” Kevin says in lieu of a greeting as he slides the door of Betty’s compartment open. He shuts it quickly, not really expecting Betty to answer, and flops on the seat across from her.

Betty looks up from her Charms textbook expectantly. Kevin is already in his Ravenclaw robes and Prefect badge, like her, since they both had a meeting about half an hour ago. His tie is askew, his eyes bright with excitement.

“I was catching up with Josie and her girlfriends,” Kevin starts, getting more comfortable on the seat. Betty tucks a bookmark in her textbook and closes it, setting it aside. “And I saw _Archie_.”

“Well, I’m quite certain he’s a Hogwarts student,” Betty deadpans.

Kevin rolls his eyes. “No listen,” he says, flapping his hands for emphasis. “I saw Archie, and he is _fit_.”

Betty giggles. “Like you thought Moose was fit in third year?”

Kevin scowls at her. “I resent that. Third year was a long time ago.”

“It was three years ago.”

“Practically a lifetime,” Kevin says, sniffing. “Anyway, why didn’t you tell me your neighbour got fit?”

“I haven’t seen him since the end of the school year. Reckon Mr. Andrews finally wore him down and got him to work.”

Archie and his father were the Coopers’ (Betty’s family) neighbours, right across the street. Archie’s dad, Fred, was a Muggle and owner of the biggest construction company in their little town of Riverdale.

Kevin sighs and lays his head down on the table dramatically. Only Kevin could do such a mundane move with flair. “Those _biceps_ ,” he moans.

Betty rolls her eyes. They spend the rest of the ride bickering about Archie and how if Betty wasn’t nearly as gay as Kevin (according to him) she would definitely be trying to pull.

They arrive in Hogsmeade and they manage to secure a carriage with Ethel and Doiley without seeing Cheryl and her minions, which is a blessing in itself after having to endure Cheryl’s evil presence in the Prefect meeting.

“So,” Ethel starts as the carriage begins rattling its way up to Hogwarts. “Heard Archie got fit.”

“ _Yes!_ ,” Kevin says enthusiastically, and Betty settles in for a long carriage ride.

The Great Hall is buzzing with first-day-of-the-school-year excitement as they all settle in to wait for the first years. Doiley goes to sit with his own friend group and Ethel goes to the Hufflepuff table after she and Kevin finally finish fawning over Archie.

She glances over to the Hufflepuff table, but Archie isn’t there, his beacon of hair not visible anywhere at the table. She turns back around just as Trev slides into the empty spot beside her, Kevin pulled into a discussion with Trev’s sister, Valerie, on her other side.

“Hey Betty,” he greets, smiling pleasantly. He’s one year below her, and according to Kevin, has fancied her since first year. Betty just doesn’t see it.

“Hey Trev,” she says, smiling. “How was your summer?”

“It was pretty great. Went to a Bastille concert. It was so cool!”

Betty laughs at the sheer excitement that lights up his face. “I thought music was more Valerie’s thing.”

Trev smiles, spreading his arms. “I contain multitudes.”

“Oooh, big word, Trev,” Valerie says, leaning over Kevin and into their bubble. “Did you learn that from your _Yuuri!! on Ice_ fanfiction?”

Trev sticks his tongue out. Kevin and Betty both blink at them, uncomprehending.

“Sorry, I forgot wizards are about 300 years behind everyone else,” Valerie says, smirking.

“Do I want to know what this _Yuuri!! on Ice_ fanfiction is?,” Kevin asks. Valerie shrugs.

“Did you hear, by the way?,” she starts, dropping the subject. Trev groans.

“If I hear about Archie Andrews’ new abs one more time,” he grumbles. Betty laughs.

Valerie wrinkles her nose. “Bloody hell, no,” she says defensively. “I’m talking about the new student.”

Betty frowns. “New student? Wouldn’t prefects have been informed?”

“Not necessarily,” Kevin says, although he's frowning, too. “What year are they in?”

“Sixth, like us. Apparently a Beauxbatons transfer.”

Even Trev looks curious at that. Transfers between schools are extremely rare, especially in the last years of their education.

“Do we know anything about them?,” Kevin asks.

Valerie opens her mouth to answer but something makes her glance up behind Betty and then a strong, familiar hand comes to rest on her shoulders.

“Hey, Betts.”

She looks up and sure enough, Archie is standing there, grinning down at her. His grin is the same, as sunny and sincere as she’s ever known it, but he’s gotten taller and even through the robes Betty can see his shoulders have gotten wider.

“Hey, Arch,” she greets. Professor Grundy chooses that moment to enter the Hall, a uniform mass of terrified first years following her. Archie glances back to his table.

“We need to catch up,” he says, already stepping away. “I’ll talk to you later.” He goes back to his table with a parting pat.

Kevin sighs as Professor Grundy sets the Sorting Hat on the stool. “If gingers were my type…”

***

The number of first years seems ridiculous, even by Hogwarts standards. It takes forever for Professor Grundy to reach the letter L, and halfway through it is when the real excitement happens.

Headmaster Weatherbee gets up from the staff table and approaches Professor Grundy, who steps back politely. Immediately a whisper goes through the Hall, speculating about the sudden change of script.

He clears his throat and the Hall goes silent.“Some of you may have already heard,” he begins, casting surreptitious glance towards -Betty swears!- the Slytherin table, where the Blossom twins reign supreme right at the center. “That we have a new sixth-year student. She comes to us from Beauxbatons and I am positive all of you will make her Hogwarts experience pleasant and memorable. Miss Lodge, if you please.”

A lone figure breaks away from the first years, black robes swirling around her small frame. She’s dark haired, and as she draws closer to the Hat, Betty notices she’s sharp-featured, and her lips are dark red.

“I expected her to be blond to be honest,” Kevin whispers beside her, “ but the rest of her is very Beauxbatons.”

Betty can’t help but agree. Everything, from her looks to the way she carries herself, screams Beauxbatons.

Headmaster Weatherbee sits down again and Professor Grundy clears her throat. “Lodge, Veronica.”

Veronica takes her seat and puts the Hat on. The whole Hall seems to be holding its breath.

After a moment, the Hat calls out “Slytherin!”.

The Slytherins clap loudly. Betty claps along with them out of habit, but she’s sort of disappointed. Veronica Lodge looks very interesting.

The rest of the Sorting seems to blur together. With the new student out and sorted, nobody is really interested in the first years. The Blossoms were on her as soon as she sat down, but to Betty’s secret delight, Veronica doesn’t look like she’s really into whatever conversation the twins managed to pull her in.

The Sorting ends and the food finally appears. Valerie groans.

“Finally. I’m _starving_.”

Betty hears Trev scoot over and she looks up from her plate. Archie is slipping into the newly emptied spot. He smiles at her.

“How was your summer?,” he asks. He’s brought over his own plate. Betty shrugs, and cuts into her chicken.

She chews and swallows. “Pretty dull,” she says truthfully. “Studied, tried to avoid my mum, flew around while my dad pretended not to notice. The usual.”

Archie grimaces in sympathy. He knows how bad her mum can get, especially when she and Betty are in close quarters for long periods of time. She also absolutely abhors Quidditch and her daughter’s interest in it, so Betty often has to practice her flying (has been, for the past 6 years, even though she has yet to get into the Quidditch team, thanks to Cheryl Blossom’s large sphere of influence and burning hatred for her person) in secret. Her dad was in the Quidditch team when he was in school, so he graciously turns a blind eye when Betty feels like practicing.

“That sucks,” he says eloquently, practically shoving an entire baked potato in his mouth. His appearance might have changed but his table manners have not. He swallows.“At least your dad is not as bad.”

“Yeah,” Betty allows. She reaches over to scoop more of the casserole onto her plate. “What about you? How was your summer? A little owl told me someone has biceps now.”

He laughs, his cheeks turning red. “A little owl?”

“His name is Kevin, and he loves snapping at my fingers,” she teases. Kevin elbows her in the ribs with a hiss of her name. “And my ribs,” she adds.

Archie grins and winks over at Kevin. “Well I worked with my father during the summer, and lifting things is far more exhausting without magic.”

“I bet. Is that all you did, then?”

For a split second his expression darkens but then it clears and he turns shy. “Uh, no, actually. I might have...written some songs.”

Valerie leans over at that, interested. “Really?”

“I mean, I’m nowhere near as good as you and the other Pussycats,” he says, referring to the musical trio Valerie and her girlfriends, Melody and Josie (Gryffindor and Slytherin respectively) formed in first year and have kept together ever since. “But I, uh, I’m thinking of it seriously. As a career.”

“Cool,” Valerie says. “You should let me hear them sometime. Josie will probably try to bite your head off but I bet you can win her over. She tends to get soft around gingers.”

Archie snorts, and they all look over at the Slytherin table, where Josie and Cheryl are now talking, the latter looking like she has given up on Veronica, who-

Is staring right at Archie.

Wait, no, she is looking between _Betty_ and Archie, like she’s trying to figure something out. She catches Betty’s eye for a moment, then, to Betty’s surprise, smiles at her.

She really is pretty. Betty smiles back and drops her gaze, looking back to her friends.

Archie is looking at her with raised eyebrows, and when she looks over, Valerie and Kevin are, too.

It’s sort of comical. Betty laughs at them. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“What was _that_?,” Kevin questions, nodding in the general direction of the Slytherin table. Betty glances over, but Veronica is not looking at them anymore.

“What was what?,” she asks, cheeks warming for some reason. Kevin purses his lips.

“New girl seems to like you,” Archie says. He’s bent over his plate now, eating, but there’s a grin pulling at his cheeks. Betty pokes one.

“Veronica doesn’t even know me. We made eye contact by accident and smiled at each other to acknowledge it. It’s the polite thing to do.”

Valerie snorts. “Anyway,” she says, rudely in Betty’s opinion. “I gotta go talk to my girlfriends. I’ll see you losers later.” She leaves, making straight for the Gryffindor table.

Betty turns back to her food and finishes the last of it just as the dessert portion of the feast appears on the table.

“Treacle tart!,” Kevin exclaims just as Betty and Archie reach out to it, and Veronica Lodge is promptly forgotten.

Betty doesn’t see Veronica again until two days later, on their first Potions class of the year. She’s sitting with Jughead, which is a slightly unexpected sight. Betty did not see him all summer either, even though the three of them, she, Archie, and Jughead, were practically inseparable when they were younger. He looks pretty much the same, pale and disheveled, his crown beanie perched on his forehead (even though headwear is not allowed unless it’s religious; Jughead has never been one for rules) but he looks exhausted, dark circles prominent under his eyes. Cheryl is, mercifully, not in Potions this year.

“Alright, settle down, settle down,” Professor Flutesnoot says as he ambles into the room from his office. He’s carrying a sack of ingredients and his cauldron so Betty and Kevin, sitting the closest to his desk, get up to help. They help him unload on his desk and he grunts his thanks as they sit back down.

“We’re starting this year with bang,” he says, upending the sack on the table. “Felix Felicis. Can anyone tell me what it is?”

Several people, Betty herself included, raise their hands, but Professor Flutesnoot points to the back. “Miss Lodge?”

Betty turns to look.Veronica sits up straighter, flicking her hair over her shoulder. It’s pin straight today, and held back with a classy, dark green headband.

“Felix Felicis, also called “Liquid Luck” is a potion that makes its drinker lucky for a certain period of time. If drunk in excess, it causes recklessness and dangerous overconfidence, which can, obviously, lead to disaster,” Veronica says, sounding like she’s reciting straight from the textbook. She glances over to Betty as she finishes. Betty faces the front again hastily.

“Correct, Miss Lodge. One point to Slytherin,” the professor says. “It is also heavily regulated by the Ministry which is why each of you is going to make a very small amount, and it is going to be thoroughly tested before you can even think of consuming it. It is my duty to remind you that using it before examinations or Quidditch games is absolutely forbidden, which is why although this potion will be done brewing by March, you’re only going to get it at the end of the school year.” A few scattered groans answer to that. “Yeah, yeah,” he says dismissively. “Groan all you want, those are the rules. Open your textbooks at the appropriate page and begin. I have already separated the ingredients into the required doses. Go.”

Kevin sighs as their classmates scramble to get to the cupboards. “What if I just _Accio_ ’d the ingredients?”

“I doubt that’s very safe,” a new voice says, slipping into the empty desk beside Kevin. It’s Veronica. She smiles at them. “I’m Veronica.”

“We know,” Kevin blurts out. He slaps a hand over his mouth.

“What he means is, “Hello”,” Betty says drily.

Veronica laughs. “It’s fine. Hi.”

“I’m Kevin,” Kevin says, recovering. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Veronica says, taking out her textbook.

“I’m Betty. Why did you abandon Jughead?”

Veronica glances back to her previous desk. Jughead has already collected the ingredients and is leafing through his textbook lazily. “He’s going through some stuff right now, which I respect and understand, but I am a talkative person and I don’t think he would appreciate it at the moment. Where are your other friends? You know, that curly-haired girl and the cute redhead?”

“Valerie didn’t take Potions this year,” Betty explains, ignoring the weird swoop her stomach gives at Veronica calling Archie cute. “And Archie is a Hufflepuff.”

“He didn’t take Potions anyway,” Kevin says. “He’s a disaster near cauldrons.”

Betty shudders, remembering first year Potions class, where Archie somehow managed to mess up the Cure for Boils so badly, Moose had huge boils everywhere for _weeks_.

“Are you guys…?,” Veronica says, trailing off meaningfully.

Kevin and Betty both grimace at the same time. “No!” They look at each other.

“I’m gay,” Kevin explains, “and although Archie has gotten absolutely fit this year, he’s not really my type.”

Veronica looks at Betty.

“I’m also gay,” Betty says, lowering her voice carefully. Part of her is shocked that she's admitting this to Veronica so easily but there is something about the girl that makes her breathe easier. “and Valerie is in a relationship anyway.”

Veronica smiles. There’s a twinkle in her eyes Betty isn’t sure she completely trusts. “Sorry if that was too personal of a question. I was just curious.”

“Then you’ll fit right in with us,” Kevin says, finally getting up to go get ingredients. He looks at Betty expectantly.

She smiles as prettily as she can. “Please?”

Kevin rolls his eyes but goes to get ingredients for both of them anyway. “Love you!,” she calls out.

When she turns back , Veronica is watching her curiously. “Best friends?,” she asks knowingly.

“Since our first ride to Hogwarts,” Betty confirms, flipping over to the correct page in the textbook.

“Must be nice,” Veronica muses, setting out her own ingredients. Betty looks up at her.

“Didn’t you have a best friend in Beauxbatons?”

Veronica smiles wryly. “Not really. I wasn’t...I wasn’t the nicest person.”

“That’s difficult to believe. You’re perfectly nice.”

The smile that tugs at Veronica’s lips is more sincere this time. “Thanks. But I was quite awful. Like Cheryl Blossom level bitch,” she says, which makes Betty laugh. “The friends I had...they didn’t feel real.”

Betty touches her hand gently. It stills over the dried nettles.

“That will change now,” Betty promises. The smile Veronica gives her is sweet as Butterbeer and just as warm.

***

They get out of class a while later, and Betty comes face to face with Jughead, who’s leaning against the wall.

“Oh, hey Jug,” she greets. He nods. “How are you?”

He sneers. “Ask Archibald,” he says, and walks away.

Betty blinks after him. How odd. Veronica comes to stand beside her. “Are they friends?”

“Yeah,” Betty says. “But I think something happened. I’m going to talk to Archie. We have Herbology together right now.”

“I’ll walk you. I have study hall.”

“Oh, it’s alright. Kevin will walk me.”

“Hey,” Veronica protests, smirking. She puts her arm around hers, her fingers curling around Betty’s bicep. Her nails are short but well-manicured, and a dark red that matches her lipstick. “We’re friends aren’t we? Friends walk each other to class.”

Betty can’t help her smile. She ducks her head. “Alright.”

Kevin puts his own arm around Betty’s right. “Let’s go then, ladies. I wanna ogle Archie some more.”

“I thought redheads weren’t your type,” Veronica reminds him.

Kevin shrugs. “They’re not.”

“So what _is_ your type then?,” she asks. Betty grins and opens her mouth to answer.

“Do _not_ even mention Moose or I _will_ deduct points from you,” Kevin warns her. Betty smirks.

“You can’t deduct points from me. I’m a Prefect, remember?”

“I always thought that rule was weird. Prefects should not be exempt from punishments.”

Betty rolls her eyes and readies herself for a comeback, but the sound of duelling around the corner makes the trio freeze.

Betty and Kevin share a resigned look, and they all run towards the fight. Sure enough, when they step around into the corridor, a group of second or third year (by the looks of them) Gryffindors are fighting-

Betty swears and pulls her wand out, Kevin copying her.

“Hey!,” he yells, and the Gryffindors scatter immediately. Definitely second years, then. “No duelling in the halls!”

The group of assailants turn to look at them. Some -the smartest- run off, but some hang back to leer at them.

“Ravenclaws,” an older-looking Southside Serpent spits.

The “Southside Serpents” are a group of Slytherins notorious for their pranks and fighting. Their reach extends even outside the castle walls, in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, giving a lot of Aurors plenty of headaches. Most of the points that are deducted from the House are because of them.

“Southside Serpents,” Kevin says, with the same amount of disgust. Betty sends him a warning look, and his jaw clenches.

“South-what?,” Veronica asks, whispering. Betty shakes her head minutely.

Another Serpent steps forward. He looks about their age, with long, dark hair and light green eyes.

He smirks at Kevin, and takes a long, pointed look down his body. Kevin goes red.

“Would you be that brave without your beard?,” the Serpent asks, nodding towards Betty and Veronica. Betty hisses despite herself as the rest of the Serpents laugh. They all set off, shoving each other around as they go, apparently no longer interested in fighting a couple of Ravenclaw prefects. The guy that made the beard comment gives Kevin one last look and follows them.

Kevin exhales forcefully through his nose. Betty touches his arm. “I’m sorry Kev.”

Kevin doesn’t reply to her. He looks at Veronica. “That,” he says.

Veronica looks confused. “What?”

“That was my type,” he clarifies, and his eyes are full of despair.

They reach the greenhouse late, but Professor Haggly is not very strict, so she simply waves them in. They take their places in the very back and scramble for equipment as she explains how to handle the Venomous Tentacula.

Kevin looks at the plant before him balefully. “It’s so ugly.” He jumps back as the plant shoots out to grab him.

“ _Diffindo_ ,” Betty commands, and the plant stops. “Never mind that. I still can’t believe you’re attracted to-”

“Attracted to who?,” Archie says, making the student beside Betty switch places with him. The blushing Hufflepuff goes without complaint.

“Whom,” Kevin corrects.

“Stop stalling,” Betty says. “Kevin is attracted to a Southside Serpent.”

Archie raises his eyebrows. “Didn’t know that was your type.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Kevin grumbles, cutting a Tentacula arm off as it shoots out to grab his wrist. “He was just pretty. For a Serpent.”

Betty shakes her head. “Be careful, Kevin. You know they’re trouble.”

Archie grins, absentmindedly dodging his own plant. “Can’t wait till your dad finds out.”

Kevin turns to him, wide-eyed. “Are you kidding? I’ll be homeschooled till I _die_.”

Kevin’s father is the Head of the Auror department, and while he normally doesn’t care who Kevin dates, he might have an issue or two with this particular prospect.

“Proba-fuck!,” Archie swears as the Tentacula grabs his bicep. Betty cuts the arm off and the plant retreats.

“Pay attention,” she scolds.

“Yes, _mum_ ,” Archie says flatly. Betty sticks her tongue out at him.

“So,” she says, moving on. “Talked to Jughead after Potions.” Archie doesn’t react. “He didn’t sound very happy with you.”

Archie sighs. “I kind of really fucked up this summer.”

Betty frowns, jotting down an observation in her notebook. “What happened?”

When she looks up for a moment, Archie is looking around. “Not here,” he says quietly. Meet me by the 7th floor staircase, okay? I have...a lot to tell you. You might as well come too, Kevin.”

“Thanks,” Kevin says wryly.

“What’s on the 7th floor?,” Betty asks. Archie gives her a small smile.

“You’ll see.”

***

After a spectacularly dull History of Magic lesson where not even the Gryffindor King of Mischief (as he calls himself unironically) Reggie had the energy to make exciting, Kevin and Betty head up to the 7th floor, Betty’s stomach growling in protest.

“This better be worth it,” Kevin grumbles as they pass the 4th floor, voicing her thoughts. “I’m absolutely starving.”

“Shush now,” Betty says, even though she agrees. “This must be important. Jughead and Archie never fight.”

“You’re right,” Kevin admits. “I thought those two were inseparable.”

“They are. They used to be.” Betty frowns. “I really hope they can fix it.”

***

“I can’t believe you’ve known this was here since first year and you didn’t tell me,” Betty grumbles later, when they’re all sitting in Hogwarts’ copy of Archie’s room in the Room of Requirement.

Archie shrugs. “Sorry, Betts. I didn’t want to ruin your good girl image.”

Betty punches him in the arm. “Shut up.”

“Why are we in your room?,” Kevin questions, looking around at his desk littered with comic books and half-finished compositions to his guitar and the Muggle posters on the walls. Although he’s been to Betty’s house a few times, he’s never been to Archie’s.

“Dunno. It was the first place I thought of.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Betty says. “What’s wrong, Arch? What happened this summer?”

Archie’s face goes dark. He takes a deep breath. “I...hooked up with someone.”

Kevin looks confused. “Okay....you do know you and Jughead aren’t dating...right?”

Archie ignores him. “I hooked up with someone...I shouldn’t have.”

Betty and Kevin exchange a look. “Please tell me it wasn’t a Southside Serpent?”

“What? No!,” Archie protests.

“Blimey, was it Cheryl Blossom?!,” Kevin wonders. He gasps. “Jason?”

Archie looks alarmed now. “Why would I ever hook up with a Blossom?” He shakes his head as if to clear it. “Can you guys just let me finish?”

Betty looks at him expectantly, and Kevin stays silent. Archie takes another deep breath.

“I hooked up with Professor Grundy.”

Kevin gasps. Betty continues to stare at him, uncomprehending.

Archie looks at her for a long moment. “Betty? Please say something.”

“Professor Grundy,” Betty echoes. Her voice sounds foreign to her ears.

“As in...our Charms professor,” Kevin supplies, sounding as shocked as Betty feels.

Archie goes red. “Yeah.”

“Archie…,” Betty starts slowly, trying to hold back the anger simmering right under her skin because Merlin that is _not_ what Archie needs right now. She digs her nails into her palms. “That is….extremely illegal.”

“And gross,” Kevin says unforgivingly. “She should definitely be fired.”

Archie’s eyes widen. “You can’t tell anyone.”

“Archie are you joking? I don’t care what the legal age of consent is in Muggle England, you’re underage and her _student_ ,” Kevin says, voice rising.

“Jughead knows, doesn’t he?,” Betty cuts in before Archie can argue his case. The light in his eyes seems to dim further.

“He-he saw me getting out of her car and confronted me. She doesn’t know he knows. You guys are the only people I’ve intentionally shared this with.”

“Why are you protecting her?,” Betty asks, shooting up off her seat at the bed. Archie startles visibly but she ignores him, pacing up and down the room. “Or better yet-how did it even happen? _Why?_ ”

“She was in town visiting family during that weird heatwave back in July,” Archie explains, eyes faraway. “And she saw me walking at the side of the road. Offered me a ride away from the heat.”

Kevin makes a noise of disgust at the back of his throat.

“Look,” Archie says, getting up to face her. “I wanted it. I can’t say that I didn’t because it wouldn’t be true. I’m more concerned with Jug-”

“No,” Betty interrupts him, gritting her teeth. “We have class with her. _You_ have class with her. Who knows if that was just an one-time thing or even if you’re the only student she’s ever approached. She’s _dangerous,_ Archie.”

Archie scoffs. Kevin shakes his head.

“She’s right, Archie. We need to do something about her.”

“You don’t need to do _anything_ ,” Archie says harshly. “It’s my fault.”

“Archie, it’s not your fault,” Betty says, shaking her head. “You’re a _kid_. Professor Grundy had to be the one to put an end to things before they even started.”

Archie falls backwards onto his bed. “God, I don’t even really care about Grundy. I fucked up with Jughead. He hasn’t talked to me all summer.”

“If it’s any consolation, he looks like shit, so I reckon he’s feeling awful about it, too,” Kevin says, ignoring the look Betty sends him. “Why don’t you guys just talk it out?”

“He keeps avoiding me,” Archie says, sounding utterly miserable. Betty frowns.

“Well, he’s an asshole,” she seethes. He should be supporting Archie, not avoiding him. “And you bet I’m going to talk to him, too.”

“Betty…,” Archie starts.

“No, Archie. We’re almost adults. I’m not letting this go. And I’m not letting the Grundy thing go either.”

“Fine,” Archie sighs.

“Well, now that that’s done,” Kevin says, forcibly cheerful, crossing his legs. “You got any snacks in here? I could eat a hippogriff.”

It turns out Archie had not thought of having snacks in the room, so they all make the trek down to the Great Hall where lunch is still mercifully going. Archie gets waved over by Moose and Reggie, both sitting down at the Hufflepuff table, so he goes with a sad little wave. Betty and Kevin sit down at the Ravenclaw table.

“Hey guys,” Valerie greets, looking up from her conversation with Josie and Melody. “Where have you been?”

“Catching up with Archie,” Betty says simply, already filling up her plate. “What are you guys up to?”

“New songs,” Melody informs them happily. “Josie and Val are splitting up their lines.”

“Swell,” Kevin says. He’s already eating at an almost alarming speed. “God, I love Hogwarts,” he moans, shoving more mini sausages into his mouth.

Valerie and Melody look at him in awe and disgust respectively, but Josie glances away.

“You have an audience, Kevin,” she says. Betty and Kevin both look over, and Kevin swallows hastily and coughs a bit. Valerie hands him her pumpkin juice.

Over at the Slytherin table, the Southside Serpents have taken over the left end, but only one is looking at them.

The Serpent that made the beard comment.

“What the hell?,” Betty hisses. “What does he want?”

“I don’t know,” Kevin says, looking down at his plate. “Is he still looking?”

Betty looks up again. The Serpent is looking away but there’s still a smirk on his face. Probably his regular expression.

“What did Joaquin do?,” Josie asks. Kevin looks up.

“His name is Joaquin?”

“Uh-huh,” Josie confirms, reaching over to grab a sandwich. “He’s in our year. Did he bother you?”

“He called me Kevin’s beard,” Betty says, chancing a look at the Slytherin table again. Joaquin is still not looking, but Veronica is. Betty gives her a little wave, and she returns it with a smile.

Josie looks thoughtful when Betty looks back at her. “Tell me every single detail of that meeting.”

Kevin tells her without much embellishment. She looks amused again.

“I see,” she says mysteriously.

“Well?,” Kevin asks. “What does he want?”

Josie smiles at him. “Figure it out, Ravenclaw. Figure it out.”

***

Josie’s comment haunts Kevin all the way to Transfiguration with the Gryffindors. He can’t stop talking about it even as they take their seats in the back of the classroom, as far from Professor Howitz’ temper as possible.

“But what did she _mean_?,” Kevin stress-whispers. Betty busies herself with taking her textbook out, keeping an eye out for Professor Howitz. He hasn’t exited his office yet, which is a mercy.

“I don’t know, Kevin,” she says, for what feels like the 100th time. “She’s probably taking the piss.”

Kevin frowns, taking his own textbook out. “We have rounds tonight. What if I see him? You know Southside Serpents love messing with Prefects.”

“Hex the shit out of him,” Reggie says, turning around in his seat. Moose follows him, blinking owlishly at them.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “Whoever he is.”

“I’m a Prefect, I don’t “hex the shit” out of people,” Kevin says, although he looks disturbingly thoughtful at the suggestion.

“Want me to beat him up?,” Reggie asks, flexing just for their benefit. Betty rolls her eyes.

“Thanks, you absolute Gryffindor,” Kevin says. “But no thanks. He’s a Serpent. I wouldn’t trust him to be fair in a fight.”

“I’m not bloody scared of any Serpent,” Reggie boasts.

“That’s nice, Mister Mantle,” Professor Howitz says, swooping in from his office, "but snakes are not the subject of this particular lesson. Today we’re working on the Bird-Conjuring Charm. Yes, Miss Valentine?”

“I thought that was a Charms lesson, Sir,” Melody says.

“And Butterbeer is a Potion if it tries hard enough,” Professor Howitz says drily, which earns a few scattered laughs. “Now, if you’ve all finished with useless chit-chat, I would like to begin.”

Transfiguration ends with only Betty and a few other Gryffindors managing to procure as much as a feather, which, Professor Howitz reassures the class, looking unsurprised, is completely normal. Joaquin is not brought up again, although Reggie and Moose tell Kevin at the end of the class that they’d be perfectly willing to defend his honour from any Slytherin or Serpent.

The second Potions class of the day is boring now that they’ve gotten the potion started, and Professor Flutesnoot assigns them essays to work on individually, so Betty doesn’t get a chance to talk to Veronica. She stays in her seat beside Jughead, which neither of them look terribly excited about.

“That was awful,” Kevin proclaims later, as they pack up their stuff. “I barely got any of it done.”

“You seemed distracted,” Veronica notes, coming up to them, bag already packed. She flicks her hair out of her eyes. “Something wrong?”

“The Serpent was looking at me at lunch,” Kevin tells her quietly as they move towards the exit.

“Oh. You never did tell me who they are,” Veronica says.

“They’re a gang of Slytherins that like to cause trouble in Hogwarts and outside of it. I think the “Southside” is for south England or even London. I don’t really know,” Kevin explains.

Veronica makes a considering noise. “And he was looking at you again?”

“Yeah. Josie knows why but won’t tell me.”

“Maybe he likes you,” Veronica suggests. Kevin stops walking to stare at her so abruptly, one of their Ravenclaw classmates nearly stumbles into him. He murmurs a distracted apology without looking away from Veronica.

“Are you serious?,” Kevin asks, sounding panicked. “He’s a Serpent. I can’t like a Serpent.”

“I didn’t say you had to like him,” Veronica says with an eye-roll. “He just might like you. I’ll make my own judgment in Care of Magical Creatures.”

“Wait- he’s taking the class? Why? How do you know?”

Veronica sends Betty a look. Betty shrugs.

“I heard a few Serpents planning a prank,” Veronica says, turning back to Kevin. “Joaquin was one of them.”

Kevin groans. Betty sighs.

“And with that, I’ll leave you two to it. I have Muggle Studies. See you guys.”

“You take Muggle Studies?,” Veronica asks, looking curious. “Why?”

“I want to be a Healer,” Betty says at the same time Kevin stage-whispers “to despise her tyrant mother.”

“Kevin is madly attracted to Joaquin,” she says in retaliation, and the indignant squawk Kevin makes keeps her smiling all the way to class.

* * *

 

Muggle Studies passes by without incident, but Betty is prepared for a mess in DADA as, since all the houses are represented in the sixth year class this year, it’s bound to be chaos. Archie is in the class, along with Reggie, Moose, Jughead, the Blossom twins, Doiley, Ethel, and all the Pussycats. When Betty walks in, Veronica is there, too, talking closely with Kevin. Joaquin is on the far side of the room, talking with a couple of Serpents. Chuck Clayton, Gryffindor’s star Chaser, winks at her from beside Reggie. Betty ignores him.

She slides in the available seat next to Archie, right behind Veronica and Kevin. “Hey guys.”

“Hey,” Archie says. “So. Joaquin, huh?”

“That’s what they’re talking about?,” Betty asks.

“Yeah,” Archie says, looking over at the boy in question. Joaquin is not wearing his robes, and since his button down is rolled up at the elbows, Betty can see his snake tattoo on his forearm. She supposes she can see why someone, even sweet, boy-next-door Kevin would be attracted to him.

“Hey,” Veronica says, finally turning around. “Why is that large Quidditch player beside Reggie staring at you?”

Betty looks over, and sure enough, Chuck smiles and winks when she catches his eye. She huffs and looks away pointedly.

“How did you know he plays Quidditch?,” Archie asks.

Veronica snorts. “Please. He practically screams “I’d shag my broom if I could”.”

Betty lets out a surprised laugh at that. Veronica grins at her.

“Speaking of Quidditch,” she says, “are you trying out next week?”

“Shit, tryouts start next week?,” Archie says. “Forgot.”

Kevin looks at him. “Aren’t you Captain?”

Archie has the decency to look embarrassed. “Yeah.”

Betty rolls her eyes. “I’m not trying out.”

“Why not?,” Veronica asks, looking disappointed. “It would be fun.”

“My mum-”

“You can’t let her control every aspect of your life,” Veronica says gently. “Besides, we’re in Hogwarts. How is she going to know?”

“She’s a journalist,” Betty says bitterly. “She knows everything.”

“And besides, Cheryl Blossom would rather stab her eye out with her own wand than have Betty play,” Kevin says, looking at the girl in question. She’s sitting at the front of the classroom, talking closely with her friends Ginger and Tina. Her brother is sitting at the desk beside hers, talking with another Slytherin.

“What’s her problem?,” Veronica asks. “You’re not even in the same House.”

“My sister used to date Jason when she was still in school. It was….messy,” Betty sums up, remembering seeing her sister in Mungo’s in the summer, depressed from the break up and the loss of her baby. “Didn’t end well.”

Veronica frowns. “That seems a little excessive. It’s not like it personally concerns Cheryl or you.”

“That’s Cheryl for you,” Kevin says, just as Professor Phlips enters the classroom, so Betty doesn’t ask Kevin about Care for Magical Creatures like she intended to.

“Before we get into the stuff to which you’re all undoubtedly looking forward,” Professor Phlips starts, leaning against her desk, “we’re going to be revising some spells we’ve seen over the years, which I’m sure all of you,” she looks at the Serpents and Reggie here “know. It’s still good to revise anyway, so I’ll hear no complaints. Get up.” They all get up and she flicks her wand, sending the desks and chairs in stacks against the walls. “Pair up with whomever you please and practice the spells I have jotted down on the board for you. You may not use any other spell, and I _will_ dock points if you do. Go.”

Veronica turns around, opening her mouth to ask Betty to pair up, probably, but Chuck beats her to it, materializing by Betty like he Apparated. “Hey, Betts,” Chuck says, smiling in what he probably thinks is a charming way “pair up with me.”

“Sure,” Betty says flatly. “Thanks for asking.” She sends an apologetic look to her friends, and follows him to his side of the room. In a weird twist of fate, Cheryl and Veronica pair up, coming to stand right beside her. Archie pairs up with Reggie, Moose with Jughead (which seems a little unfair; Jughead is no doubt going to wipe the floor with Moose) and Kevin…

Kevin pairs up with Joaquin, who is apparently giving him no choice judging from the panicked look Kevin is currently sending her over Joaquin’s shoulder.

Betty grimaces in sympathy in his general direction and turns to her own partner. He has shed his robes and rolled up the sleeves. Betty can admit, on a purely aesthetic level, that Chuck is attractive, but the illusion is shattered the moment he opens his mouth.

“Think you can handle me, Betts?”

Betty disarms him in reply. Chuck looks shocked, even though Betty literally yelled the spell out. “Don’t call me that,” she says, and hands him his wand.

To his credit, Chuck doesn’t seem offended. “Alright,” he says, smiling. “You’re a wild card. I like it. How come you’re not a Gryffindor?”

“Too much brain,” Betty says simply, and easily blocks his _Aguamenti_.

“Shoddy form there, Cooper,” Cheryl says. She blocks the nearly spiteful tickling charm Veronica sends her way.

“Her form is fine, Blossom,” Veronica says. “You should watch your wand.”

Cheryl frowns down at her wand, so she is too distracted to block Veronica’s Disarming Spell. Her wand flies out of her hand and Veronica steps up to catch it with a grin.

“Told you,” she says as Cheryl visibly seethes.

“Nice, Miss Lodge,” Professor Phlips says, walking by. “One point to Slytherin.”

Veronica’s smile, if possible, turns even more smug. Betty feels a strange thrill run through her. She ignores it, and focuses on knocking Chuck off his broomstick, as the saying goes.

****

“Two-hour Defense is _torture_ ,” Archie whines when they all leave the classroom for dinner. He has, for some reason, burns across his robe, so he pulls it off and stuffs it in his bag as Betty shakes her head at him.

“It’s useful,” she reminds him. “Even for musicians.”

“I thought it was fun,” Veronica says gleefully from Archie’s other side.

“Only because you got to cream Blossom,” Kevin says, coming to walk by Betty’s left. “I’ve never seen her so red before.”

“How was your partner?,” Archie asks him, grinning. Kevin looks ahead of him.

“He was okay,” he says, sounding overly casual. “We didn’t really talk.”

“Uh-huh,” Archie hums suspiciously. Betty secretly agrees. Kevin looks _too_ calm.

“Anyway, back to Quidditch,” Veronica says, resuming their pre-class conversation. “You should try out, Betty. I am.”

“Really?,” Archie asks, looking surprised. “You play?”

“Yes. Why do you sound so surprised? Is it the lipstick?”

“N-no,” Archie stutters. “Okay, maybe a little,” he amends at the look on Veronica’s face. “What position do you want?”

“Seeker,” Veronica says, adjusting the strap of her bag.

“I’m gonna do it,” Betty blurts out. Her friends all look at her. “I’m gonna try out. And screw my mum, and screw Cheryl fucking Blossom!”

Veronica grins. “Motto of the _year_.”

“It’s a pity we don’t have cheerleaders in Hogwarts,” Kevin sighs. “I’d rock the look.”

***

The rush of motivation lasts until dinner, where no other than Cheryl Blossom slides onto the bench beside her.

“So,” she starts casually, like she sits at the Ravenclaw table all the time “heard you’re thinking of joining your Quidditch team.” The speed at which gossip travels through the castle truly alarms Betty sometimes, even though she’s been living here for six years.

“What’s it to you?,” Kevin asks from her other side. Cheryl ignores him. She turns to Doiley, who’s sitting right across from her.

“Good luck, Doiley,” she tells the Quidditch Captain, smiling beatifically. Doiley blinks after her as she takes her seat at the Slytherin table.

“Well, that was not terrifying at all,” Kevin murmurs.

“Don’t worry,” Veronica says, taking Cheryl’s spot. “You’ll get into your team. I’ll deal with Cheryl.”

“How?,” Betty asks, self-doubt setting in again. “What if I can’t-”

“You can, and you will,” Veronica cuts in. “And Cheryl does not scare me. I _used_ to be Cheryl. I know how to deal with her.”

“She’s fire in human form,” Valerie says, leaning across her brother. “You sure you can handle her, new girl?”

“She’s fire, is she?,” Veronica asks, looking over at the Slytherin table. “Then it’s a good thing I’m ice.”

* * *

 

“You look nervous,” Betty tells Kevin that night, when they’re making their rounds close to the Slytherin dungeons. “You okay?”

“Fine,” Kevin grunts. Betty sends him a suspicious look -she’s sure he’s hiding something- but decides to let it go for now.

“Hey I never got to ask you what happened in Care of Magical Creatures,” Betty remembers. Kevin shrugs.

“Nothing really. Whatever the Serpents were planning, it didn’t happen. It was a normal class.”

“Does Veronica still believe he likes you?"

Kevin blushes. “That’s what she’s saying.”

“And what do you think?”

He sighs. “I don’t know, Betty. I mean yeah, I won’t lie, he’s very attractive, but he’s a Serpent. If my dad finds out I’ll be in so much trouble. And you know he’ll find out eventually. Nothing stays secret for long in this castle. And I mean, even if my dad miraculously does not care about Joaquin’s criminal status which is,” he snorts “unlikely, the media _definitely_ will. I can already see the headlines. “Son of Head Auror caught in _Romeo and Juliet_ romance.”

Betty smiles despite everything. “Nice Muggle reference.”

“Thanks, Veronica thought of it,” Kevin says, pleased with himself. “But anyway, I-” he stops. Betty looks up.

Joaquin is lounging against the wall just right around the corner from the Slytherin door, looking right at them. He smirks at Kevin.

“Hey, Cinderella,” Joaquin tells her without looking away from her friend. “Mind giving us a moment?”

Betty looks at Kevin. He bites his lip.

“Go, I’ll meet you in the Great Hall. I don’t think I’ll be long.”

“Okay,” Betty says disbelievingly, because now that other people have noticed it, she can see it, too.

The look in Joaquin’s eyes is not derision or hatred. It’s lust.

* * *

 

“Why am I not surprised you’re the first done with your rounds?,” Veronica says as she walks into the Great Hall, making Betty jump in her seat on top of the Ravenclaw table. She gets off and dusts off her robes.

“What are you doing here? This is kind of against the rules.”

Veronica shrugs. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Betty bites her lip. Veronica has shed her robes for the night. Her dressing gown is silky, and looks expensive. She has no makeup on, which only makes her look younger and does not in any way diminish how pretty she is.

“I’m waiting for the Head Boy or the Head Girl to come so I can make my report and go back to my dorm,” Betty says. She sits down at the bench and Veronica follows her, crossing her legs at the knees.

“I saw Kevin and Joaquin,” Veronica says. Betty looks at her. She’s smiling.

“Let me guess,” Betty says drily. Veronica’s smile gets bigger.

“Oh, yes. They didn’t even notice me walk by them.”

Betty sighs. “If Joaquin breaks Kevin’s heart I’ll break both of his kneecaps.”

That startles a laugh out of Veronica that seems too loud in the vast quiet of the Hall. “Wow, B. I should have known.”

Betty blinks at her. “Known what?”

“There’s a reason Cheryl Blossom is intimidated by you. It’s because you’re actually bloody scary.”

Betty snorts, looking down at her robes. “Maybe I should do her a favour and not try out for the Ravenclaw Chaser position then.”

“Oh come on, don’t be like that. You’ll get in, you’ll see,” Veronica reassures her, side-hugging her. Betty cuddles close to her, surprised at how natural it feels.

“I don’t know, Ronnie," Betty whines, the nickname falling easily from her lips "I’ve never actually played Quidditch before. I’m a good flier in my backyard but that’s very different from an actual Quidditch game. What if I suck?”

“I highly doubt you suck at anything,” Veronica says simply. “You just have to believe in yourself.”

Betty snorts bitterly. Then she hears voices. “I think the Head Boy is coming. You need to go.”

Veronica pouts at her, but gets up. “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she promises, and bends down to kiss her cheek before leaving quickly.

Betty is still touching her cheek when the Head Boy rounds the corner.

***

When she enters the Ravenclaw common room, Kevin is there, sitting in an armchair and staring at nothing in particular. He looks up when she clears her throat.

“Hey,” she says, and sits down at his lap like they used to do when they were first-years and significantly smaller. He leans his head against her chest.

“Sorry you had to do the rounds alone,” Kevin says. “I didn’t know it was going to take me that long.”

“Uh-huh,” she says, and pokes at a hickey on his neck. Kevin’s head snaps up. He looks embarrassed.

She sighs. “Kevin, are you happy?”

He considers that for a moment. He meets her eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

“Then I’m happy,” she tells him firmly. He smiles.

“But if he hurts you, I’m breaking all of his limbs and burying him under the Whomping Willow.”

“Elizabeth!”

* * *

 The rest of the week goes by without much trouble and in much the same fashion. Kevin sneaks off to meet Joaquin as much as he can (usually after dinner), Betty practices her flying, and Veronica supports them both. Both Kevin and Betty have taken to glaring daggers at Professor Grundy, much to her confusion and to Archie’s disappointment, and Jughead still refuses to so much as meet his childhood friend’s eyes. Betty feels like she’s being split into several directions at once.

She tells Veronica as much on the eve of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Tryouts. They’re holed up in Betty’s dorm, the only two currently in the room, a sea of snacks from Hogsmeade (courtesy of Moose after a little bit of bribing from Veronica) around them in Betty’s bed.

“You feel responsible for too many things,” Veronica tells her. She’s lying on her side, facing Betty. She’s makeup-free again, but still wearing her uniform, tie loose and shirt unbuttoned at the top. “You spend too much of your energy worrying about Kevin and Archie and Jughead.”

“But-” Veronica puts a finger on her lips. Her hands are cold but very soft.

“Don’t argue with me,” she says, lips quirking. She removes her finger from Betty’s lips. Betty’s face feels warm for some reason. “I get why you’re worried, but they’re all big boys. From what I’ve seen Joaquin actually seems to like Kevin a great deal. I hear the Serpents making fun of him for “having gotten too soft” all the time.”

“Do they know-”

“I don’t think they know it’s Kevin but I don’t think they care much. Did you know Joaquin actually smiled at me the other day? Not even a little bit of smirking in sight.”

Betty huffs out a laugh. “Wow.”

“I know,” Veronica says, grinning. “It was life-changing.”

“Does Cheryl know?”

Veronica looks thoughtful at that. “Probably. It’s Cheryl after all,” she reminds Betty. “But, you know, for all her faults, I don’t think she would use Kevin’s orientation or relationships to spite you or anything like that.”

“Kevin’s orientation wouldn’t be the thing she’d use to ruin his life and mine. It’s the fact that he’s secretly dating a Serpent.”

“With the Head Auror for a father, yeah,” Veronica muses. “But still, I don’t think she’d do anything. She’s not _that_ bad.”

Betty gives her a disbelieving look. Veronica rolls her eyes.

“Seriously, she’s not. I don’t know what exactly went on between you guys but don’t you think you should be sorting that out instead of worrying about Kevin? Do you really want to leave Hogwarts feeling like this?”

Betty considers that for a moment. Most of Cheryl’s animosity started around the same time their siblings’ relationship went downhill, but that ship sailed a long time ago. So why is Cheryl still so angry at her?

“Maybe you’re right,” Betty admits. Veronica smiles.

“I know I am. Now try this one out for me,” she says, picking a Bertie Botts’ Every Flavour Bean up and offering to her. It’s a weird green colour. “I’m too scared to.”

“If it’s booger-flavoured I’m shipping you off to France,” Betty promises.

Veronica’s smile doesn't falter. Betty bites into the jelly bean.

She grimaces. “Mint.”

“Not a fan?,” Veronica says, leaning forward to grab a Chocolate Frog.

“Not really. Oh hey,” she says, looking at the card Veronica got. “That’s-”

“My father,” Veronica says. She’s staring down at the card with a sad expression on her face.

“Hiram Lodge is your father? I-I never made the connection.”

A few months prior to the start of sixth year, Hiram Lodge, a powerful Muggleborn businessman and wizard, was arrested on fraud charges and put in French Muggle prison. It had been a big deal in the Wizarding community since wizards were always trialed by the Ministry of their country. Everyone had expected the French Ministry to bail him out, but they didn’t. There had been a lot of speculation around that -the most popular one being that Lodge had somehow also wronged the Ministry- but that had yet to be confirmed or denied.

“Yes,” Veronica says. She puts the card down. Hiram Lodge smiles up at them charmingly. “I miss him.”

“I understand,” Betty says, although she doesn’t think she would feel much the same way about her parents. Her mum, at least. “I’m sorry.”

Veronica bites down at the Frog as it tries to escape. She chews and swallows. “Thank you.”

Betty catches herself staring at her mouth. There’s chocolate on the corner of her lips. They look plump and pretty even without the lipstick.

“You have…,” she trails off, pointing to the offending corner. Veronica wipes the chocolate away and licks her lips. Betty blinks.

“Apologies,” Veronica says. Her eyes burn into Betty’s.

Betty coughs and sits up, crossing her legs. “So, uh, you’ll be there tomorrow right? At the Ravenclaw tryouts?”

When she looks back at Veronica, she’s smiling. She has abandoned the snacks to fully lie down on the bed, her black hair fanning around her. Betty thinks she has never seen a more beautiful sight.

Oh.

_Oh no._

“Of course,” Veronica is saying, oblivious to Betty’s internal freak-out. “I’m going to be cheering the loudest. B + V forever, remember?”

“Forever,” Betty agrees helplessly, and tries not to choke on butterflies.

* * *

 

“Dilton Doiley are you telling me you’re not allowing Betty to try out because you’re _scared_?”

Doiley, for his part, doesn’t look scared. He looks _terrified._ Of Veronica’s angry expression or the possibility of Cheryl swooping into the field, Betty is not sure.

“Listen, Veronica, I’d love to have Betty on my team-”

“Then why don’t you let her try out?!,” Veronica asks, eyes flashing. Betty has never felt gayer in her life.

Valerie and Archie, who have been watching from the stands, come to stand beside her. “Veronica is right, Doiley,” Valerie says, crossing her arms. She’s already in her uniform as she’s the Beater for the team. “What do you have to lose?”

“Uh,” Doiley scoffs, “every single one of my limbs?”

Veronica rolls her eyes. “Cheryl won’t get to do that because I.Will.Have.Done.It.First.”

Betty touches her arm. “Veronica please, it’s fine. I’ve gone six years without a place in the team. It’s no big deal.”

“Yes, it is!,” Veronica rages, voice raising in pitch. She shakes Betty off. “I’m sick of Cheryl bloody Blossom and the effect she seems to have on the entire school. Betty is trying out whether she likes it or not!”

She stares at Doiley, chest heaving. Doiley’s eyes are wide. The rest of the Ravenclaws trying out are quiet.

“Okay,” Doiley says finally. “Okay, you-you can try out,” he tells Betty. “You said you wanted to try out for a Chaser spot?”

“Yes,” Betty says, stunned. She’s really going to try out.

“Okay, get in line,” Doiley says, nodding towards the other waiting Ravenclaws. “Please go sit,” he tells Betty’s friends. His eyes haven’t lost their shifty look, but he sounds calmer.

Veronica tosses her hair back. “Very well,” she says grudgingly. “Let’s go, guys,” she tells Valerie and Archie, and grabs them both by the arms to drag them away.

Doiley blinks after her. “She is really terrifying,” he notes.

Betty stares at her retreating back and sighs, hitching her broom higher on her shoulder. “Yeah, she is.”

***

“I can’t believe you ever doubted you’d get in!,” Veronica crows and practically falls into her lap.

Betty grins, warm from Butterbeer and Veronica’s body so close to her. They’re in the Ravenclaw common room, where her friends dragged her to celebrate her getting into the team. Even Reggie and Moose are here, all the Pussycats, and a bunch of Ravenclaws from her year and others. She has no idea how they got Butterbeer and Firewhiskey in, which should probably concern her more as a Prefect, but she doesn’t really care at the moment.

“Thank you,” she says as Veronica rearranges herself on her lap so she’s sitting more of her weight on Betty, her legs in Kevin’s lap. “For believing in me.”

Veronica smiles down at her. Her eyes are very warm, her face close. Betty’s heart thumps hard in her chest. “Of course.”

“Who’s up for "seven minutes in heaven"?,” Reggie bellows suddenly. Excited noises follow the question, and a few groans.

“There’s not a single person I want to kiss in here,” Kevin complains quietly. Betty pats his leg sympathetically.

“Wanna play?,” Veronica asks Betty, looking excited. Betty bites her lip. She shouldn’t…

“Sure,” she blurts out, and allows Veronica to pull her up. A lot of people, Archie and the Pussycats included, have gathered in a loose circle in the center of the common room, tables and chairs pushed away.

“So,” Reggie starts as Betty and Veronica join the circle. “Only one rule: if you don’t accept to go have "seven minutes in heaven" with the person this bottle,” he shakes the empty Firewhiskey bottle he’s holding “lands on, I’ll come up with a punishment and you are _obligated_ to do that instead.”

“Oh no,” Melody mutters. She’s sitting beside Betty, right across from her girlfriend Josie. Betty agrees.

Reggie either doesn’t hear or pretends not to. “Let’s start. I’ll spin to see who’s starting the game.”

“I thought "seven minutes in heaven included a closet",” Veronica reminds Reggie. He shrugs.

“Well, unless you are willing to sneak around the castle to find one, the dorms will have to do,” he says decisively. His eyes glint. He spins the bottle.

It lands on Archie. Reggie grins.

“Archie, my man,” he cheers. “Go on.”

Archie grabs the bottle. He looks pretty reluctant but he spins it anyway and it lands-

It lands on Veronica.

Several catcalls go through through the Ravenclaw common room -way too loud, even though it’s technically not curfew quite yet- but Betty’s eyes are glued to the bottle. Her ears are buzzing.

When she tunes back in, Veronica is laughing, and unless Betty is imagining things, she doesn’t sound very comfortable.

“Today’s your lucky day Andrews!,” Reggie declares. “Go on, mate.”

Archie looks at Veronica. They both get up to the hoots of the common room. Archie’s eyes fall on Betty. She makes sure to wipe off any expression from her face.

Archie’s lips thin. He almost looks sorry although there’s no way he knows about Betty’s newly-realized crush.

They go up to Archie’s room, and everyone starts to talk among themselves while Reggie watches the time. Moose keeps sending weird looks towards Kevin.

She gets up and walks out of the circle. Nobody seems to notice.

Kevin catches her at the exit. “Where are you going? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Betty says blankly. “Just need to clear my head. I’ll be back.” She gets out before Kevin can protest.

***

For some reason, her feet carry her all the way to the Slytherin dungeons. She doesn’t know what she’s doing here - this is really not a good spot for brooding- but her body has a mind of its own, apparently.

Luck is not on her side tonight, as it seems. Just as she rounds one corner, Cheryl Blossom rounds the other. They stare at each other.

Cheryl opens her mouth to speak but Betty beats her to it. “I’m really not in the mood tonight, Cheryl.”

Cheryl raises her eyebrows and tightens her dressing gown around her. Betty wonders where she was for a fleeting moment before deciding she doesn’t care.

“Why...are you here?,” Cheryl asks, stepping closer.

Betty sighs, suddenly very tired. “I was just walking and I ended up here.”

“But why are you out in the first place? Isn’t your little gang celebrating you becoming the new Ravenclaw Chaser?”

Betty doesn’t ask how she knows. “We are.”

When she doesn’t continue, Cheryl raises her eyebrows again expectantly. “But?,” she prompts.

Betty clenches her jaw. Her lip wobbles. Cheryl is really not the right person to confess to.

She leans against the nearest wall and slides down until she’s seated. The wall is cold but she hardly notices. “But they’re playing "seven minutes in heaven".”

She sees Cheryl move out of the corner of her eye and then she’s sitting down beside her hesitantly. “Okay…”

“Veronica and Archie are playing. Right now,” Betty finally spits out, and the bitterness and the anger she has been feeling building up spills over onto those few words and she has to take a deep breath and dig her nails into her palms to calm down again.

“You’re jealous,” Cheryl notes. “Because Veronica is kissing Archie.”

Betty chokes on a desperate, desperate laugh. She knows she shouldn’t say it; it’s so personal and it can do so much damage if it reaches the wrong ears (like her _mum_ ) but she has to tell someone or she’ll explode. She would tell Kevin but she doesn’t want to burden him when he has his own romantic endeavours and secrets to deal with, and she would tell Archie but he and Jughead- well.

“I’m jealous because it’s _Archie_ she’s kissing and not _me_ ,” Betty admits, only slightly on the verge of hysteria.

Cheryl doesn’t say anything for a moment. “Alright. Didn’t know you swung that way but. Alright.”

“Congratulations. You have officially been inducted into the People Who Know Betty Cooper is a Raging Lesbian club,” Betty says drily. She brings her knees up and wraps her arms around her legs.

“I bet Kevin is President,” Cheryl says, just as drily, and despite her misery, Betty laughs.

“Yeah,” she says wetly. She had’t realized she’s crying. She wipes at her cheeks.

“I’m guessing Veronica doesn’t know how you feel,” Chery says, softly enough that Betty finally looks at her. There’s no pity in her gaze, but kindness and understanding.

Maybe Veronica was right. Maybe Cheryl is not that bad.

That thought almost sends her over the edge again. “No,” she chokes out. “She doesn’t.”

Cheryl tilts her head. “Why not?”

Betty chuckles without any humour. “She has given me no indication she likes girls and besides,” she sniffs, uncurling from her legs to lean against the wall. “We’re best friends. I don’t want to-”

“You’ve only known each other for a week or so,” Cheryl reminds her “and you’re already best friends. Gay or not,” she snorts here for some reason “she feels very strongly about you.”

“What if I- what if I tell her and I ruin what we have? What if she doesn’t feel the same way?”

“In danger of sounding like a Gryffindor,” Cheryl says, making Betty huff an unwilling laugh through her nose “I think the risk is worth it.”

When the despair on Betty’s face doesn’t change, Cheryl sighs. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think Veronica will reject you.”

Betty blinks at her. “What?”

Cheryl’s mouth thins. “I’ve seen her look at you, Cooper. Not very platonic those looks, in my honest bisexual opinion.”

Betty’s brain short-circuits. “You-”

Cheryl sighs. “Yes, well, since you came out to me, your sworn enemy, I thought it was only fair I did to.”

“You-you didn’t have to,” Betty says, but Cheryl just rolls her eyes at that.

They don’t say anything for a while, and then Cheryl gets up so Betty does, too.

"Well," Cheryl starts.

“You really think she might…?,” Betty trails off, unable to finish the sentence.

“I think telling her is worth a shot,” Cheryl says, and walks off.

“Wait, Cheryl,” Betty calls out. Cheryl turns to look at her.

“Why-why are we enemies? I mean, I know you resent my- you resent my family for how they split them up,” she doesn’t need to say their names; feels wrong somehow, to bring them up when neither of them are around “but…”

Cheryl takes a deep breath and steps closer again. “I have resented you for a long time,” Cheryl admits “because I saw how….everything that happened affected my brother. And I couldn’t take it out on your parents, now could I?”

“I’m not happy with what happened either,” Betty says and has to hold back a snort. What an understatement. “But could we...could we at least call a truce?”

Cheryl looks at her consideringly for a moment. “Fine,” she says finally. Her lips twitch. “I’m still kicking your blonde arse on the first Ravenclaw-Slytherin match.”

Betty snorts. “You wish.”

Cheryl smiles. “Goodnight, Cooper.”

“Goodnight, Blossom,” Betty says. Cheryl walks off again.

She’s disappeared completely from her sight when Betty hears her say, “And congratulations on getting in the team, by the way.”

Betty smiles. “Thanks,” she says to the quiet castle around her.

***

When she finally gets back to the common room, the party is still in full swing, although everybody is dancing now, the game broken off. She doesn’t recognize the song; it sounds Muggle.

A small hand grabs her by the wrist and hauls her to sit her down onto the couch, right beside Kevin. She blinks up.

Veronica is standing above her, hands on her hips. There’s concern in her gaze, but also anger.

“You alright?,” Kevin asks, looking concerned. Guilt sears through Betty.

She smiles at him. “Fine, Kev.”

“Fine,” Veronica echoes flatly. “You disappear without anyone knowing where you are for like an hour and you’re just ‘fine’.”

Betty bristles, so the lie comes out easily. “I got a really bad headache so I went to Madame Beazley for a cure and then I ran into Cheryl.”

Kevin sucks in a sympathetic breath. “How did that go?”

“We talked,” Betty admits. She looks up at Veronica again. “We called a truce.”

Immediately, Veronica’s eyes soften, clearly remembering their conversation. She sighs, deflating. “That’s good then, right?”

“Yes,”  Betty says, Cheryl’s encouragement echoing in her ears. Could Veronica really…

Veronica sighs. “Well, now that I know you’re okay, I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Betty says faintly, and hears Kevin do the same. Archie drops on his other side.

“Oh hey, you’re back. You alright?”

“Fine,” she says. Archie simply smiles, a reaction vastly different from Veronica’s. She files that away; it feels important.

Kevin looks at her, eyes inquiring. She knows that he saw right through her lie, and she knows she owes him an explanation, but now that Veronica is gone, she feels exhausted.

“I-I’m going to bed, too,” she says, getting up. Both boys look up at her. Kevin’s lips thin.

Archie blinks innocently. “Are you certain you’re alright?"

She nods with a smile. “Yeah, Arch. I’m fine.” She bends down to kiss both boys on their cheeks. “See you tomorrow.”

She goes up to her room. She’s alone, all the girls still down at the party, so she doesn’t bother with propriety or her nightly routine (which she’ll regret tomorrow), just strips, throws her clothes in the vague direction of the foot of her bed, and drops on it face-first. She barely remembers to draw the curtains around her before she slips under.

* * *

 After that fateful evening, things slip back to normal. Betty tells Kevin about her miserable crush and he gives her pretty much the same advice Cheryl gave her; to take the plunge. Archie and Jughead still won’t talk to each other but Betty, what with Quidditch practice and her first game ever approaching, and the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year looming closer, she really has no time to devise an appropriate strategy for them.

Veronica acts like she was never angry at Betty. She comes to Betty’s practices and Betty goes to hers, they sit together or in the same group in the classes they share, and Veronica always takes her meals at the Ravenclaw table, as she says the atmosphere is much more welcoming.

Cheryl and Betty do not become best friends, but there’s no more maliciousness between them, only friendly competition, especially in DADA. She notices that Cheryl looks between Veronica and Betty more often now, like she’s waiting for Betty to finally do something.

Archie, for his part, had grabbed her a few days after the seven minutes in heaven fiasco and explained that he and Veronica had done nothing but talk in dorm room. Betty is still a little surprised he knows how she feels; he isn’t exactly the brightest when it comes to feelings, but she is grateful for him all the same. He even urges her to make a move.

But Betty is a coward and the prospect of telling Veronica how she feels sounds even scarier with the Hogsmeade trip coming up.

It gets even scarier around mid-October, when she notices Veronica getting asked to Hogsmeade by what looks like half of the castle. She turns everyone down, mostly boys but also some brave girls, and Betty gets nervous. What is she waiting for? Who?

“Elizabeth Cooper,” Kevin says exasperatedly “what are we going to do with you?”

The three of them, Kevin, Archie, and Betty, are sitting in the Room of Requirement (made to look like Pop’s this time; she misses his milkshakes with a burning passion). It’s a Sunday, and there is no practice today, so Betty has a moment to breathe. Veronica is in Professor Phlips’ office, using the Floo network to talk to her mum as she lent her owl to someone from her House and it’s not back yet.

“Betts, why don’t you just ask her out?,” Archie asks. He’s sprawled on the seat, even though Betty is practically wedged up to the window for him to fit. 

“Why don’t you just _talk_ to Jughead?,” Betty retorts. Archie stiffens for a moment before he forces himself to relax.

“You know it’s not the same. I’m trying to recover a friendship, not start a relationship.”

Betty sips on her magical copycat milkshake. Not as good as Pop’s, but pretty close.

“That will come after,” Archie adds belatedly.

Betty promptly inhales milkshake up her nose. She has a small coughing fit, and when she finally recovers enough to look up, Kevin is staring at Archie like he just told him he has secretly been a Muggle all along.

“Surprise,” Archie says faintly. “I’m in love with my best friend.”

“Bloody hell,” Kevin whispers. “You like guys?”

“I’m bi,” Archie says with no hesitation. Betty slaps his arm.

“Why did you never tell me?!”

“Ow,” Archie complains. “I didn’t...really know? I mean, obviously I had an inkling but I didn’t really _know_ know until fifth year. Like, late fifth year.”

“And then summer happened,” Kevin says, recovering from his surprise. His shoulders droop. “Oh, Archie.”

“I know,” Archie says grimly. “Worst timing ever.”

“There is absolutely no heterosexual to be found in our year, is there?,” Kevin wonders. “Me, Betty, Archie, Cheryl, probably Jason, too-”

“Reggie, Moose, Veronica most likely-” Archie adds.

“Back up,” Betty says. “Reggie and Moose?”

Archie snorts. “Look me in the eye and tell me those two haven’t at least snogged,” he challenges. Betty leans back in her seat.

“The world is shifting under my feet,” Kevin says, looking as surprised as she feels.

“Anyway,” Archie says. “Back to Betty. You should ask her to Hogsmeade. If she doesn’t react well,” Archie says, anticipating her retort “just say as friends. There, gay crisis averted.”

Kevin smiles, amused. “He has a point, Betty. Don’t take her to _Madam Puddifoot’s_ , though, for the love of Merlin.”

“I might be inexperienced but I’m not _that_ out of the loop, Kevin,” she reassures him, shuddering at the thought of that pink monstrosity that they call a tea shop. Anxiety sets in again, though, thinking of Veronica rejecting her.

Archie sighs. “Stop being such a Ravenclaw about this,” he advises, ignoring Kevin’s affronted sound. “You’re overthinking this too much. Even if she rejects you, she won’t stop being your friend. I can see that much.”

“I can see it, too,” Kevin agrees. “You guys are too close for anything like that to get in between you. Trust me, Betty, just go for it. You have nothing to lose.”

* * *

 Betty doesn’t work up the courage to make a move until the first Quidditch game of the season, one week before her own game. It’s Gryffindor vs. Slytherin today, and the entire Hall is buzzing with excitement at breakfast. Veronica is having breakfast at her own table with her teammates, so they only exchange a smile and a wave.

“I’m going to tell her today,” Betty decides out loud. Kevin and Valerie turn to look at her. “I’m going to tell her after the game.”

Valerie grins. “Fucking finally, is all I say.”

“You’re telling me,” Kevin scoffs. “There’s only so much pining a man can take. Ow!,” he exclaims as Betty punches him in the arm.

“You’re such a wanker,” she says fondly. They all look up as they hear the Gryffindors get up, because they can’t do anything quietly. There is a lot of roaring and pounding the table involved, Reggie at the helm. They all start to file out amidst claps from their table and some of the others. Chuck takes a detour and smiles at Betty as he approaches.

“Oh no,” Valerie mutters.

“Hey, Betts,” he says and Betty tries not to cringe. “You’re going to be cheering for me, right?”

“Actually,” a familiar voice says, “she’s going to be cheering for _me_.”

Veronica steps out from behind Chuck’s massive shoulders and loops her Slytherin scarf around Betty’s neck. Chuck looks so shocked, Betty almost laughs.

Veronica bends down to her ear on the pretense of fixing the scarf. “You _are_ going to be cheering for me, right?,” she whispers. Betty shudders at the proximity and the feeling of her breath on her ear. She smells like that perfume she always wears from a Muggle company Betty for the life of her cannot remember the name of at the moment.

“Yeah,” she whispers, hating how breathless she sounds. “Of course. B+V forever, right?”

Veronica straightens just as Jason Blossom yells for her to follow the rest of the team. She winks at Betty. “Enjoy the game. And good luck, Clayton,” she tells Chuck as she walks away. She smirks. “You’re going to need it.”

Chuck stares after her, dumbfounded, and follows his own team without even looking at Betty. Valerie starts laughing.

“She’s my new favorite person,” Valerie declares.

“Mine too,” Betty says. If she tilts her head down and sniff a little, she can still smell her perfume on the scarf.

***

The stands are packed by the time Betty makes it to the field. Her friends, Archie included, manage to snag seats close to the top. Archie smiles at the scarf around her neck but says nothing.

“Students and staff,” Coach Kleats booms from the announcer cubicle. He’s an overweight, retired Quidditch coach, and oftens gets into trouble for swearing when the team he is against scores. “Welcome to the first Quidditch game of the school year. Today we’ll see our reigning champion, Gryffindor,” he pauses to allow the Gryffindors to roar their approval “and the reigning opposition, Slytherin,” cheers go up from the other side of the stands “battle it out in what promises to be an intense match. Up first, the Gryffindor Team! Captain Reggie Mantle, Beater,” Reggie runs into the field amidst even more roars “Chuck Clayton, Chaser-”

“How fast do you think Gryffindors will attack us if I boo right now?,” Valerie asks. Betty laughs.

“Midge Klump, Chaser,” Coach Kleats continues. “Nancy Woods, Chaser, Frankie Valdez, Beater, and Tomoko Yoshida, Seeker! A round of applause for our Gryffindors.” They all clap with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

“Now, our Slytherins,” Coach Kleats says, with much less gusto than before. Betty would hazard a guess as to what his favorite House is. “Captain Jason Blossom, Keeper,” Jason runs out into the field, his red hair bright under the autumn sun. “Cheryl Blossom, Chaser, Maria Rodriguez, Beater, Trula Twyst, Chaser, Joaquin Romero, Beater, Brigitte Reilly, Chaser, and finally Veronica Lodge, Seeker. A round of applause for the Slytherin team!”

***

The match is long and brutal, neither team giving an inch to the other. It’s been a tie for Circe knows how long, and neither Seeker has caught the Snitch. Betty’s stomach swoops every time Veronica flies by the stands, black hair tucked in a braid under her helmet.

Then at last, a shout erupts from the Slytherin stands, and suddenly both Seekers are on the move. Betty gets up, heart in her throat.

For a bit, she has no idea what is happening; the Seekers are on the other side of the field, broomstick to broomstick, and then-

Veronica holds up her hand triumphantly.

Half of the stands erupt into cheers. Betty jumps up and down and screams, ecstatic. The entire team converges on Veronica as they fly down.

“And Slytherin has the Snitch, bringing the score up to 250-140! Congratu-fucking-lations.”

“Sir!,” Headmaster Weatherbee admonishes faintly, but the exchange can be hardly heard over the cheers and boos of the crowd. Supporters start to stream onto the field and Betty goes down immediately, without looking if her friends are following her.

She elbows her way through the crowd, ducking to avoid errand broomsticks and angry Gryffindors, and then she sees her.

Her helmet is off. Her hair is messy, still in the braid, and her eyes are alight with happiness as she stares at the fluttering Snitch in her hand. She looks up and sees Betty, and she brightens even more.

It’s almost magnetic, the way Betty’s feet drag her to her. Veronica throws her arms around her the moment she’s within reach. Betty hugs her back just as tightly.

“Congratulations!,” Betty says. She can feel Veronica’s heart pounding even through her uniform. She's really sweaty but Betty doesn't care. “You did amazing.”

Veronica leans back, but doesn’t let go. She grins, and her eyes fall to her scarf. “You’re still wearing it.”

Betty’s face heats up traitorously. “Of course.”

Veronica’s eyes soften, but don’t lose their happy glow. “My lucky charm,” she declares. Betty can feel her heart in her throat. It’s now or never.

“Veronica…” Veronica tilts her head, expectant.

“Lodge!,” Jason yells, “let’s go! Party in the common room.”

Veronica doesn’t even look away from Betty. “I’ll be right behind you!”

Betty swallows. “WillyougotoHogsmeadewithme?”

Veronica blinks. Betty clears her throat. _So smooth, Cooper._

“Will you-”

“I understood you the first time,” Veronica says. Betty’s mouth falls shut audibly.

Then Veronica grins, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Of course I’ll go with you.”

Betty’s breath leaves her with a _whoosh_. “Good,” she croaks.

They stare at each other for a moment. “You do mean this in a gay way, right?,” Veronica asks.

Betty laughs. “Yeah.”

“Full homo?”

“Absolutely.”

Veronica grins. “Okay, good.” She squeezes Betty’s biceps. “I gotta go before the Blossoms bodily drag me to the House, but I’ll see you after, okay?”

“Yes, of course,” Betty says hurriedly, trying and failing not to look excited. Veronica’s grin, if possible, gets even wider. 

She leans up and kisses Betty’s cheek, very close to her mouth. Betty stops breathing.

“See you later,” Veronica whispers, and runs off.

Betty stands there, blinking into the emptying field, until Kevin loops an arm around her shoulders.

“So,” he says, smiling knowingly. “How did that go?”

Betty grins up at him. “I have a date.”

* * *

Since Hogsmeade weekend coincides with Betty’s first game, Veronica and Betty agree to meet up after to walk to Hogsmeade together. Nothing major changes between them, but touches between them linger more, and so do glances. Betty has never blushed this much in her life.

Cheryl corners her in DADA to congratulate her, which is equal parts weird and amazing, and even Jughead smiles at her. Joaquin wiggles his eyebrows annoyingly when he sees her in the hallways or during Patrols, and not even the Serpents’ annoying pranks can dampen her mood.

But one person can.

Chuck Clayton.

She knows that, logically, Chuck cannot possibly know Betty is not available, or, you know, a lesbian, but it still sets her on edge. He always demands she be his partner in DADA (even though she beats him. Every time) and he catcalls her at practices. Veronica is furious.

“I’m this close,” she rages at dinner, three days before Betty’s first game “to hexing his bloody arse. One well-aimed hex and he won’t be able to mount a broom.”

Betty pats her thigh consolingly and lingers there, feeling daring. She feels it twitch under palm. “Well short of you eating me out on the Gryffindor table,” Betty starts. Veronica chokes on her pumpkin juice and wheezes. Kevin and Valerie laugh loudly. “I don’t think he’ll understand I’m not, and will never be, interested.”

“That’s an,” Veronica clears her throat “interesting suggestion.”

“Merlin, get a room,” Valerie says, still laughing. Betty throws a sausage at her.

Veronica seems to calm down until DADA, where Chuck strikes again. They’re practicing their Patronuses today, and nobody has been able to conjure anything yet. Betty is concentrating really hard on a memory (Kevin, Archie, Veronica, Betty and Valerie, hanging out at the Ravenclaw table, laughing at each other’s jokes, Veronica’s eyes boring into hers, her thigh warm against her own) when Chuck steps uncomfortably close to her side.

“Hey, Betts,” he says. Betty makes an annoyed sound and lowers her wand. Beside her, Veronica stiffens visibly.

“Hey, Chuck. Please don’t call me that.”

“You going to Hogsmeade this weekend?,” Chuck says, forging on.

“Yes,” Betty says, and lifts her wand again, hoping he gets the hint.

He doesn’t. “You going with anyone?”

“Yes,” she bites out. “Veronica and I have plans.”

“Oooh, Girl Day,” Chuck says, smirking. Veronica whispers something in French that doesn’t sound very nice. “Can I join?”

“Are you a girl, Chuck?,” Cheryl says, suddenly materializing between Betty and Chuck. Betty has never been more grateful for her.

“Uh,” Chuck says eloquently, blinking. “No?”

“Then…,” Cheryl says slowly “why would you crash Girl Day?”

“Just a suggestion,” Chuck says, frowning at Cheryl.

“Then let me make one of my own,” Cheryl suggests sweetly. “How about you tell your _girlfriend_ to join Girl Day?”

Chuck opens his mouth then closes it again. Cheryl tilts her head and smiles, like a shark smelling blood.

“Goodbye, Chuck,” she says, and waves, until Chuck finally goes to bother Reggie instead.

“ _Expecto Patronum_!,” Veronica yells out then, and silver erupts out of her wand, taking the shape of-

“A fox!,” Professor Phlips says. “Well done, Miss Lodge. Five points to Slytherin.”

The fox sniffs around for a moment and then walks directly to Betty, nuzzling her a bit before disappearing. Warmth spreads through Betty.

“That was so pretty,” Betty says.

“You found your memory?,” Cheryl asks.

Veronica smirks over at Chuck. “You could say that. Who’s Chuck’s girlfriend anyway?”

“Nancy Woods,” Cheryl says. “She’s on the Quidditch team.”

“Oh yeah, the Chaser. She’s too good for Chuck.”

Cheryl snorts. “Understatement of the year, honey.”

***

 

Chuck strikes again when Betty least expects it. She’s in the changing room, stalling while putting on her Quidditch gear, nerves and excitement making her hands shake. Everyone else is outside, waiting for Coach Kleats to start the game.

She hears the door open and doesn’t bother turning around. “I’ll be right there, Doiley, give me a moment.” She bends over to tie her shoes.

A warm hand on her lower back startles her. “Hey, babe.”

She straightens and turns to look at Chuck disbelievingly. “Are you kidding me?,” she blurts out. “What are you doing here?”

“Cheryl was having a laugh the other day,” Chuck says. “Nancy and I are going through an open phase in our relationship.”

Betty snorts and grabs her broom and her helmet. “Not that I care, but does _Nancy_ know that?”

Chuck laughs. “Of course. Hey, listen,” he starts, stepping closer. Betty narrows her eyes and steps back, her calf bumping into the bench behind her. “How about that Hogsmeade date? I know you were lying.”

Betty blinks at him. Her jaw clenches. “Excuse me?”

Chuck snorts and smirks at her. Betty gets the sudden urge to punch that smirk right off, and has to take a breath through her nose. “I’ve seen the way you look at me, Betts,” he says. Betty scoffs. “It’s alright,” he continues, stepping even closer. Betty has to lean her head back.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing,” Betty says, “but I have a game to play. Get out of my way.”

“Oh, come on-”

“Uh, sorry to interrupt, Betty,” Doiley says from the doorway. He’s looking between Chuck and Betty curiously. “But the game is about to start.”

Chuck, blessedly, steps back. “Good luck, babe,” he says, and _kisses her cheek_ before leaving quickly, smashing his shoulder into Doiley. Doiley grunts.

Betty shudders and wipes the phantom memory of Chuck's mouth from her cheek. “Let’s go, Doiley. Before I do something I regret,” she says, and marches to where the rest of the team stands waiting.

***

Hearing her name announced along with the title “Chaser” is surreal enough, but actually flying above the stands, ducking Bludgers and Hufflepuffs, is a whole different reality. She had spotted Kevin, Melody, Cheryl, Josie, and Veronica at the beginning of the game, all huddled together in the Ravenclaw section, but most of her attention was turned elsewhere.

Valerie flies past her with a wink, hunting down a Bludger. Betty is getting antsy sitting here and doing nothing. The game feels even longer than the Gryffindor-Slytherin one had been, and although Ravenclaw has scored plenty of times, if they were to catch the Snitch now they would be tied.

And then it happens.

Betty’s chance.

Archie gestures for Ethel, the Keeper, to send him the ball after Doiley fails to score, and Betty, for once, does not overthink things. She flies towards Archie, manages to duck a Bludger, and grabs the Quaffle from under his nose (almost literally). A shout goes up from the stands as she flies to the posts. She can feel, more than hear, Archie following her. She reaches a point a good distance away from the posts and dares a glance back. Archie is almost upon her, Doiley following close behind, and Valerie prepares to hit a Bludger towards Archie as Betty watches.

She turns back and spares a sympathetic glance to Ethel before she throws the Quaffle as hard as she can.

“An incredible shot by Chaser Elizabeth Cooper!,” she hears Coach Kleats boom and then- “and the Seekers are after the Snitch!,” he continues gleefully. “Aaaaaaaaaand Adam Chisholm of Ravenclaw has the Snitch! An incredible win for Ravenclaw! They advance to play Gryffindor in next month with a score of 360-220! Congratulations!”

Betty flies to the rest of the team as they all huddle around Chisholm before flying down. Her team congratulate her, and even some of the Hufflepuffs compliment her on the goal, Archie last.

He smiles at her. “That was bloody perfect, Cooper. You’ve been holding out on me.”

Betty takes off her helmet and grins. “Thanks, Arch!” Her smile turns into a grimace as Chuck slings an arm around her shoulder.

“Hey, babe,” he says. “Congratulations.”

Archie frowns. He looks between them. “Uh-”

“Andrews, you coming?,” Moose yells from behind them. Archie looks up.

“I’ll see you later,” he says grudgingly, and leaves with a last, confused look at Chuck.

Betty shakes Chuck off. “What do you want?”

Chuck smiles. “Don’t be like that, babe, you know what I want.”

Betty grits her teeth. She’s had enough.

“Well, I don’t want you!,” she erupts, startling Chuck and her teammates. “I thought you’d get the hint but I guess that’s out of the question so listen to me.” Where is Veronica? She would really like Veronica to be here right now. “I. Do.Not. Want. You.”

Then, like the sun emerging from the clouds, the crowd around them splits into two and Veronica appears, smiling. The smile falls when she takes in Chuck and Betty’s murderous expression, though.

“Betts?,” she asks. “What’s wrong?”

Betty’s jaw clenches, and then, for the second time in just the span of thirty minutes, she decides to not overthink and marches to Veronica.

She drops her helmet on the grass and grabs her by the waist. Veronica looks startled.

“Betty, are you sure?,” she whispers hurriedly as Betty pulls her in until they’re flush against each other. Betty’s chest is heaving.

“Kiss me,” she says roughly. “I’m sure,” she adds hurriedly as Veronica doesn’t look very convinced. “Kiss me.”

Veronica doesn’t need any more reassurance. She takes hold of Betty’s face and then they’re kissing for a brief, glorious moment, in which the only thing that matters to Betty is Veronica’s perfume tickling her nostrils, her thudding heartbeat, and Veronica’s soft, soft lips.

Then Veronica pulls back and reality comes crashing back in. Most of the people that are still lingering in the field are openly staring. Chuck’s jaw threatens to reach the grass.

“Do you _get_ it now?,” Betty bites at Chuck, and she swears she has never seen a Gryffindor run away from anything so fast. Some people in their little audience laugh, and then they decide the spectacle is over and disperse. She sees none of her friends around. She turns back to Veronica and is surprised to see anger on her face.

“Veronica?,” Betty says hesitantly. “Ronnie?”

“That was...not smart,” Veronica spits out finally. Betty blinks down at her.

“What?”

“You kissed me, in front of the whole school, just to prove a point to Chuck bloody Clayton. If your mum hears-” she breaks off, inhaling deeply, and lets go of Betty completely. “You’re risking everything and for what?”

“I did _not_ just kiss you to prove a point!,” Betty denies, furious that Veronica would even _think_ that. “I have the biggest crush on you, probably have since the first time I saw you, and I’m pretty sure I’m half in love with you already. I was going to kiss you after our date!,” Betty reveals. Veronica looks shocked. Betty continues, trying to hold back angry tears. “Chuck kept pestering me and he cornered me before the game and I’m just so _angry_ at people assuming things about me all the time. And I don’t care what my mom will do,” she adds, voice getting quieter. “I have places to go if she kicks me out, and I already have emergency money stashed away. I only need to survive the holidays before seventh year and then I’ll turn seventeen and I can do whatever I want.”

She becomes aware that she’s breathing heavily. She unclenches her fists. “Right now, all I want is to go on dates with you, and hold your hand in the hallways, and kiss you in the Great Hall and between classes and to sneak off with you to make out during my rounds like the worst Prefect ever and not have to _care_ about what anyone else thinks.”

She licks her lips. She feels exposed, raw, like someone’s split her open and left her out in the sun.

“Please say something,” she urges when Veronica doesn’t look capable of stringing a sentence together.

Veronica moves forward. Her hands slowly come up to cradle Betty’s face and Betty’s heart leaps. “I’m definitely half in love with you, too,” Veronica croaks. “I mean I’m pretty sure you’re my soulmate and I’d be more scared if I wasn’t sure that you’re going to be in my life for a long time, no matter how things evolve romantically between us.” Betty feels something wet on her cheek and realizes she’s crying now. Veronica wipes it off tenderly before she can. “I got angry because I’m terrified _for you_ . I don’t know your mum but she sounds like an absolute hag and I don’t want you to get hurt. But if you’re sure,” she inhales deeply here. Her eyes are blazing and Betty never wants to look away. “That you want me, that you want to do all those things you said, then I want them, too. I want _you_ , Elizabeth Cooper.”

Betty lets out a wet laugh. “B+V Forever, right?”

Veronica smiles, and it looks kind of wobbly. Her eyes look wet, but she’s not quite crying yet. “Forever,” she agrees, and then they don't talk again for a long time.

They go on that date. Eventually.

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think? I might make this a series to include Archie/Jughead and stuff but I'm not sure yet. Please leave comments or kudos if you'd like! Thank you xx


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